Nearly 33 years later, the Rams beat No. 22 Harvard, 60-54, Tuesday at Rose Hill Gym.

The Fordham win snapped a 54-game losing streak to ranked opponents stretching back to February 28, 1978 when the Rams knocked off then 18th-ranked Georgetown, 63-59, at Rose Hill.

The win followed a Dec. 29 victory over Georgia Tech and was Fordham’s third in a row and fourth in its last five games. Fordham is now 7-6.

The win closes out the Rams’ non-conference schedule and gives Fordham its first winning non-conference record since the 2006-07 squad went 8-6.

“I’m really happy with how hard we played tonight,” said Fordham head coach Tom Pecora. “There was a stretch in the second half where Harvard started to play a little harder but we called a time out and we regrouped. And Chris did a great job playing within himself, making veteran plays. He’s an automatic double-double.”

With a young team comprised of seven freshmen and four sophomores, the Rams were looking for veteran leadership earlier this year and junior Chris Gaston has stepped up his game, notching his sixth straight double-double and his NCAA-leading eleventh of the year. He finished with 18 points and ten rebounds, shooting 8-for-15 from the field.

Gaston said he switched from his white to his red shoes at halftime because the white ones hurt his feet. He then went out and put up 14 point and six boards in the second half.

“It was the shoes,” he said.

Senior center Kervin Bristol added seven rebounds and two blocks while senior guard Alberto Estwick nailed an early three-pointer to help the Rams stay up with the Crimson early.

Youth was also on display for the Rams with freshman Bryan Smith leading all scorers with 22 points, shooting 5-of-8 from behind the three-point line including a big three with 15 seconds left, while sophomore guard Branden Frazier tied his career-high with eight assists.

“I encourage Bryan to shoot the ball,” said Pecora. “He passes up shots. At times, I don’t think he realizes how good a shooter he is.”

(Release courtesy Fordham Athletics)

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With Fontan set to make his debut Saturday for Southern Cal (6-4) against Taylor and No. 3 Kansas (9-0) at Allen Field House (noon, ESPN), the chatter is running high between the two old friends and former St. Anthony teammates.

“I told him that’s a terrible place for him to come back,” cracked Taylor, Kansas’ junior point guard from Hoboken, N.J.

Said Fontan: “I’ve been calling him telling him how we’re going to beat them and he’s been calling me telling me how they’re going to blow us out.”

Fontan and Taylor were teammates under Hall of Fame coach Bob Hurley on the 2008 St. Anthony team that went undefeated, won a mythical national championship and produced six current Division 1 players, including Florida’s Mike Rosario, Pittsburgh’s Travon Woodall and Villanova’s Dominic Cheek.

While most of the hoopla surrounding the game will focus on heralded Kansas freshman Josh Selby, who makes his debut after sitting out an NCAA-mandated nine games for accepting impermissible benefits, Fontan will make his own debut after sitting out a year following his transfer from Fordham.

“I’m real excited,” Fontan, a Paterson, N.J. native, said by phone. “It’s been a year and 13 days since I played in my last college game. I want to finally put the Trojan jersey on and finally get going.”

The 6-foot, 175-pound Fontan made the A-10 All-Rookie team as a freshman in 2009 (15.3 ppg, 4.7 apg) and averaged 15.0 points per game in five games last season at Fordham.

“I haven’t really seen him play in a while and I talk to him almost every day,” said the 6-3 Taylor, who visited Fontan in Los Angeles for a week last May. “I’m excited for him. I’m real excited for him.”

Ironically, neither Taylor nor Fontan ended up at the school to which they first committed out of St. Anthony.

Taylor initially signed a Letter of Intent to play for Marquette and then-coach Tom Crean. But after Crean left to take the Indiana job, Taylor sought his release and Hurley spoke up strongly in his defense.

“This thing of a National Letter of Intent binding a minor is absolutely ridiculous,” Hurley said in April 2008.

Taylor ultimately landed at Kansas, which should be a Final Four contender once Selby arrives.

When Fontan expressed his desire to leave Fordham after his freshman season and again midway through last year because of the uncertain coaching situation (Derrick Whittenburg was fired last December and replaced on an interim basis by Jared Grasso), Hurley did not believe it was a good idea. He thought Fontan should keep his commitment to Fordham, at least through the remainder of the season.

“I think they [Fordham] are on the verge of being much better next year,” Hurley said in April 2009. “He may be rushing the thing. He should give the school another year. The whole world is filled with everybody rushing to do things. Part of growing is battling through situations. My advice was stay one more year.”

Said Taylor: “Coach Hurley really didn’t want him to leave  because when nobody was looking at Jio and nobody was paying attention to him, Fordham stuck by him. And I think Coach Hurley thought Jio should do the same for them.”

By transferring mid-season, Fontan lost a year of eligibility and will only have one and a half years left.

He said he remains in contact with his old friends and teammates at Fordham, and took note when the Tom Pecora-coached Rams recently upset Steve Lavin and St. John’s at Rose Hill Gym.

“I’m happy where I am, but I’m happy for the younger guys [at Fordham],” Fontan said. “[Branden] Frazier is doing a good job. He’s only a freshman and he’s doing really well. Chris [Gaston] has just been Chris. I’m happy for all those guys.”

Still, he sounds refreshed and happy with his decision. He hits the weight room four times a week for an hour at a time, working on both upper and lower body exercises.

“I’ve working a lot harder individually,” Fontan said. “People think I should be resting . I’ve been putting more work in the weight room as the games get closer. I think it’s worked in my favor. When I practice I feel I have more stamina.”

Fontan, the engine who drove St. Anthony’s undefeated team, said head coach Kevin O’Neill told him he would start at shooting guard alongside freshman point guard Maurice Jones.

“Coach said I’ll start from this point on out for the rest of the season,” Fontan said. “I don’t know exactly who’s not going to start. It’s looking mostly likely I’ll be starting at the two and playing some one when Mo comes out the game.”

Whatever the case, Fontan and Taylor could well match up come Saturday. Let the smack talk fly.

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Though he is undersized, Sledge is tremendously quick, fierce and athletic.

When Hills West downed JayVaughn Pinkston and Bishop Loughlin last January, Sledge dropped 21 points in a 75-72 victory.

The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Sledge currently holds offers from St. John’s, Rutgers, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Fordham, Rhode Island, Hofstra, Iowa State, UTEP and Marshall.

No officials are set but his AAU coach, Mike Moore, says planning is in the works.

“In September or close to the end of this month he’ll decide on which schools he’s going to visit,” Moore said. “I don’t think he can go wrong in terms of what schools he’s going to go to. They all offer solid academics. It’s really about what schools are going to meet his basketball needs.”

Said Sledge: “I’m looking for the best situation for me. Staying home or going away doesn’t really matter. Whatever’s the best for me, that’s where I’m going to go.”

(Photo courtesy MaxPreps.com)

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NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. –

The 6-foot-9 senior, 225-pound who will spend his final year at South Kent (Conn.) after competing at Paterson (N.J.) Catholic says Rutgers leads his list right now.

“I like Rutgers a lot,” Randall, a Brooklyn native, said at the Peach Jam after the Playaz beat California Supreme, 80-49, behind Kyle Anderson’s 17 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Myles Mack’s 16 points, Desmond Hubert’s 12 and Randall’s 7 points and 7 boards .

“I’m probably going to be making my decision in August deciding where I’m going to be committing to and then sign in the [fall].”

Randall is also considering Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh (if they offer), Marquette, St. John’s and Seton Hall, but Rutgers clearly has the edge.

“Yeah, I like the coach [Mike Rice] a lot. I like the coaching staff and it’s a real nice facility. I’ve been on the campus before,” he said.

“They said they are going to work me out to my highest potential and make me the best player I can be.”

Brian Randall, Derrick’s father who works for the MTA in New York, also enjoyed the recent Rutgers unofficial visit.

“He likes the campus. He likes all the majors you can take,” Derrick said. “I like computers, so they have a computer technology [major], so he likes it a lot.”

Randall also looks forward to playing in the ultra-competitive Big East.

“It’s one of the best conferences, tough completion,” Randall said.

Randall will prep next year at South Kent alongside fellow forwards Kadeem Jack and Maurice Harkless.

“[I want to] try to get a championship,” he said. “Work on my post moves and my dribbling and my shooting and hit the weight room.”

HUBERT NARROWING LIST

Desmond Hubert, Randall’s 6-9 Playaz teammate, is also narrowing his list.

Hubert listed Pittsburgh, Villanova, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Georgia Tech and Maryland.

“I’m starting to come to more of a decision on what schools are going to be on my list and what schools aren’t going to be,” Hubert said.

Still, as first reported by ZAGSBLOG, Pitt and Villanova are at the top.

“I feel really comfortable with those two schools, with the coaching staff, especially at Pitt and Villanova,” Hubert said.

Hubert and Playaz teammate Myles Davis may also choose a school together. Both have interest in Davis as well.

“Me and him have also talked about going to school together and those are two of the schools that are recruiting us,” Hubert said.

While Randall may decide in August, Hubert plans to take his visits first.

“I’m going to wait a little bit longer probably because I definitely want to take my official visits,” he said.

UCLA LOOKING AT MACK

Up until now, Myles Mack has been getting looks mostly from Big East and Atlantic 10 schools, but now UCLA may be entering the picture for the 5-9 point guard from Paterson (N.J.).

“UCLA hasn’t offered yet,” Mack said, adding that they had expressed interest.

Miami, St. John’s, Rutgers, Fordham, Marquette, Virginia, and Providence are also on Mack’s list.

“I don’t have any favorites,” he said.

Mack and Playaz teammate Kyle Anderson will play for Bob Hurley at St. Anthony because PC is closing.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “Trying to make it an undefeated season for my last year. It’s our first year there, we want to play as hard as we can for Coach Hurley.”

LAVIN ON THE MOVE

St. John’s coach Steve Lavin is on the West Coast recruiting Norvel Pelle, Jahi Carson, Amir Garrett and Cezar Guerrero at the Pangos All West Camp.

As reported earlier on SNY.tv, Lavin has 10 scholarships to fill for 2011.

FREE THROWS

Former St. Anthony guard Elijah Carter will prep next year at Brewster (N.H.) Academy…

(Photos courtesy Rivals)

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He saw Seton Hall last Saturday and Boston College last Sunday and Monday. The 6-foot-7 Taylor is scheduled to visit Temple on Sunday and Monday.

“Right now that’s all the visits the Taylors have set up,” said Bill Diamond, Taylor’s mentor.

“I will sit down with Travis and his parents next week after the Temple visit and get a feel if they would like to utilize the remaining three visits (Seton Hall was an unofficial). Tennesse, Clemson and Fordham have expressed an interest to me and are under consideration. We wanted to wait until the Temple visit before we sat down and met again, so we can compare the three visits he’s taken. This is an extremely important decision for Travis and he and his parents want to explore all of their options and do their homework and research before making a well thought out and informed decision.”

Monmouth has given Taylor a conditional release, limiting him to the teams not on Monmouth’s schedule for next season.

**In other Monmouth news, the school’s Board of Trustees will meet at 1:30 Thursday and could discuss the struggling basketball program, the Asbury Park Press reported.

“It’s got to come up,” Board member H. William Mullaney told the paper. “It’s a topic of conversation.”

After Taylor announced his transfer, former Rutgers guard Justin Sofman said he was leaving the team and would transfer to Division 3 Ramapo College.

“I expect when the athletic director [Marilyn McNeil] makes her report that [subject of men’s basketball] will be raised at that time,” Mullaney told the paper . “Obviously what’s going on is unacceptable.”

The newspaper reports that Monmouth has gone 39-84 since 2006-7 and 10 players have left the program for various reasons.

FDU LANDS DUO

Fairleigh Dickinson landed a pair of verbal commitments Thursday from A.J. Matthews and Ryan Davis of Broward (Fla.) Community College.

Matthews is a 6-11, 206-pound center and Davis is a 5-10, 170-pound point guard.

Both will spend one more year at Broward before joining FDU in 2011, when they will have two years of eligibility remaining.

“I like the school,” said Matthews, a Brooklyn native. “It’s a good environment. The coach [Greg Vetrone] was really good.”

Matthews said he also had interest from Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Fordham, Iona and St. John’s. Broward coach Bob Starkman said Kansas, Cincinnati and Washington State “are calling me already on him” even though Matthews hasn’t stepped foot yet on campus.

“A 7-footer that can really play is unheard of these days,” Starkman said.

“He runs the floor, he’s 6-11, he’s athletic, he’s got Big East potential,” added one Big East assistant coach said of Matthews. “In the NEC, if his head’s on straight, he’s the best player in the league. Not many 6-11 guys can run and jump and catch and have skills.”

Davis, a Queens native, sat out this past season to improve his grades but played the 2008-9 and was named second-team all-conference.

“He’s really quick and he’s a good 3-point shooter,” Starkman said.

Davis said he wants to help FDU make the Big Dance.

“Definitely win the NEC and hopefully take the team to the tournament,” he said of his goals.

RUTGERS TO HIRE MURDOCK

New Jersey native and former NBA player Eric Murdock will be named Director of Player Development at Rutgers next week, sources said.

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The 2011 big man from Paterson Catholic will prep next year at South Kent (Conn.) alongside Kadeem Jack, Maurice Harkless and Ricardo Ledo.

“I’m looking forward to playing with all of them because it’s better competition,” Randall, 18, said Friday night at the Rumble in the Bronx at Fordham. “It gets you better. [It will] improve my game a lot and get [me] used to the college level, how they play.”

After South Kent, Randall should have his choice of colleges.

He listed Rutgers, Virginia Tech, St. John’s, Seton Hall, Fordham and St. Joe’s as schools which have offered.

“I’m wide open,” he said.

Randall and teammate Myles Mack — who will spend his senior season at St. Anthony now that PC is closing — took an unofficial to Rutgers this past week.

“It was nice, I liked the place,” he said.

“I went down there just to see how the campus was and how they worked out and stuff. [Head coach Mike Rice] is a great guy. I liked him a lot. He knows how to talk to a person. He’s very competitive.”

Randall said he has no further visits planned at the moment.

“I’m going to wait till next year,” he said.

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“It’s a little weird because as far as basketball-wise, things went pretty decent I guess. Of course we’d rather have no sanctions at all. But we understand we did wrong and we know we had to have some penalties,” Fontan, the Paterson, N.J. native and former St. Anthony star who transferred to USC from Fordham, said late Thursday night during a phone interview.

In January, USC implemented self-imposed sanctions on the basketball team in the wake of the O.J. Mayo scandal, but no additional penalties were levied Thursday.

Fontan said he and his teammates learned the good news during a Thursday afternoon meeting with second-year coach Kevin O’Neill.

“I applaud them on realizing self-imposing was our way of saying, ‘You know what, we did make some mistakes along the way and what we better do is be vigilant in our efforts,’ which we will,” O’Neill said on campus.

As part of its self-imposed punishment, USC will return to the NCAA the money it received through the Pac-10 for playing in the 2008 NCAA tournament, when the Trojans lost in the first round.

The Trojans lost one scholarship for last season and one for next season; they lost one coach to off-campus recruiting this summer; and lose 20 recruiting days for next season.

USC also vacated its 21 victories during the 2007-08 season, when Mayo competed while ineligible.

Those penalties pale in comparison to what the NCAA handed down to the football team Thursday in the wake of the Reggie Bush situation.

The NCAA banned the football team from bowl games for two years, took away 30 scholarships and placed the school on four years’ probation for improper benefits to Bush, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back.

“The sanctions they had were in my opinion a little harsher than what we expected,” Fontan said. “A lot of people are down because they know that this year we really expected to compete with [quarterback] Matt Barkley coming back for his sophomore year. He’s been having a real good summer. And then you got Brice Butler is looking real good, and a couple of the freshmen.

“So everyone is just hoping that the appeal goes well and we get some of those sanctions taken away.”

As far as basketball, Fontan said he gained new respect for last year’s seniors because they played without hope of a postseason bid.

“I paid a lot of homage to the guys last year because they made it through the season knowing there was no postseason,” he said. “It’s hard to stay motivated and work hard every day and go to practice knowing you can’t achieve a Pac-10 championship or a tournament championship or get to the NCAA, which everybody is dreaming.”

Fontan himself becomes eligible in mid-December after the transfer — perhaps in time to play former St. Anthony teammate Tyshawn Taylor and Kansas Dec. 18 at Allen Fieldhouse.

He said he and his teammates are motivated to start anew in the wake of the good news.

“It was definitely motivating and definitely uplifting,” he said.

FREE THROWS

Former Hofstra player Chaz Williams is transferring to UMass after an official visit this week…Playaz coach Jerome Smart is the new head coach at Teaneck (NJ) High School. Smart, a special ed teacher at the school, succeeds retired coach Curtis March..Monmouth forward Travis Taylor will visit Seton Hall Saturday and Boston College on Sunday and Monday

(The AP contributed)

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St. Peter’s assistant coach John Morton has been offered an assistant coaching position under Tom Pecora at Fordham and is expected to take it.

Morton, a Bronx, N.Y. native, played on the 1989 Seton Hall team that reached the NCAA championship game before losing to Michigan.

He replaces Van Macon, who left Fordham to join Mike Rice’s staff at Rutgers.

Meantime, Kimani Young, the athletic director of the New Heights AAU program, will join the Rice High School staff under new coach Dwayne Mitchell while retaining his position at New Heights.

Mitchell was a longtime assistant to Moe Hicks, who recently became the Director of Basketball Operations under STeve Lavin at St. John’s.

Young worked at Rice two years ago and also served on Norm Roberts’ staff at St. John’s.

“Rice is a great program to be a part of,” Young said. “I worked on the staff two years ago under Moe Hicks and Dwayne Mitchell. It was a great experience. Dwayne and I have great working relationship. I’m excited and honored to be a part of his staff and just build on the success that Rice has had over the last 15 years.”

GOLDEN HOOPS RETURNING TO NYC IN AUGUST

After fifteen years, NYC will once again experience its greatest   grassroots basketball tournament with the resurrection of the legendary Golden Hoops on August 8, 2010 in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

The reinstated signature program marks a commitment to youth basketball and will bridge the gap between the legacy of NYC basketball past with the current youth basketball experience. A collective of the city’s prized youth basketball leaders and the New York Daily News will host the one-day tournament with the top high school boys and girls competing for NYC bragging rights.

Golden Hoops 2010 marks the revival of the signature tournament initially launched by the New York Daily News in 1985, modeled after the successful “Golden Gloves” amateur boxing property.  Similar to the initial program, Golden Hoops will reclaim its position as the premiere tournament for NYC elite boys basketball.  The top 40 NYC area prospects will be organized onto 4 teams, with players, coaches, current and former NYC-bred NBA players and Golden Hoops alumni competing for bragging rights and resolution on the ultimate question in town: “Which borough breeds the best ballplayers in NYC?”

Golden Hoops 2010 also marks the introduction of an All-Girls NYC tournament with the top 20 high school girls competing for the same hotly contested debate of borough greatness.

Under the new format, both boys and girls divisions will be led by notable coaches from the world of AAU youth basketball.  NYC-bred NBA and WNBA players will act as honorary coaches including NBA legend and Queens native, Kenny Smith and the Chicago Bulls’ star center, Joakim Noah.

“New York players take pride in our city and within that, we take pride in our borough.  I grew up in Queens in the Aim High program under my brother Vince.  No question, Queens produces the best players in the city.  Golden Hoops will prove this fact.  I can’t wait to be involved, and I am excited Vince will be honored for his dedication to kids, to New York basketball and to the game,” says Smith, Archbishop Molloy alum.

With the renewed support of the New York Daily News, Golden Hoops 2010 will maintain its roots and focus on elevating the game of grassroots basketball.  During its initial reign from 1985-1995, Golden Hoops attracted countless elite young basketball players, many of whom moved on to celebrated collegiate and NBA careers including Kenny Anderson, Stephon Marbury, Roderick Rhodes, Bobby Hurley, Lamar Odom, God Shammgod and Ron Artest.

Golden Hoops 2010 signifies NYC grassroots basketball’s continued commitment to the youth game.  This mission has attracted the support of notable past participants, such as NYC basketball legend Kenny Anderson.

“Golden Hoops was a tournament I looked forward to playing in every summer,” says Anderson, who will participate this year as an Honorary Coach.  “Every year, it brought together all the best players from the NYC metropolitan area.  Great competition.  Great atmosphere.  I am excited Golden Hoops is coming back and I look forward to being a part of it this summer.”

(Photos courtesy St. Peter’s Athletics)

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Macon, who worked under Tom Pecora at both Fordham and Hofstra, joins associate head coach David Cox and assistant Jimmy Martelli on the Rutgers staff. Jim Carr also remains as the recruiting coordinator.

Macon has also coached at Lafayette and Marist.

He played college ball at Nassau Community College, where he was recruited by Pecora, who was an assistant coach at Nassau at the time. He was voted the Region XV and Region XV Tournament Most Valuable Player and led Nassau to the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament in 1990.

After graduating from Nassau, Macon went on to Long Island University where he was a medical red-shirt for one season (1991-92) before transferring to Southampton College. He played at Southampton for two seasons and was team captain and Most Valuable Player as a senior. Macon graduated from Southampton in 1994 with a degree in English literature.

A native of Corona, N.Y., Macon, his wife Pam, and their sons Eric and Mel live in Queens.

(Photo courtesy Fordham Athletics)

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